Gov’t Bureaucracy at Its Worst: DOT Traffic Control Study ‘Collides’ with Everyday Reality at Dangerous Intersection

Despite numerous accidents, and the pleas of residents and elected officials, the NYC Department of Transportation stubbornly refuses to rectify the traffic pattern at—what locals have termed—“the most dangerous intersection in Boro Park.”

A resident of the area explains: “At issue is the intersection of 11th Avenue and 46th Street. Feeding into 11th Avenue, at a sharp angle, is a tiny stretch coming out of New Utrecht Avenue, which runs diagonally through Eleventh Avenue. This leaves almost no time for cars stopped at the intersection to spot an oncoming car—and has resulted in numerous collisions.”

Boropark24 has indeed documented, and reported upon, a number of these accidents—many of which have resulted in injury.

Residents of the area are extremely frustrated that the DOT does not seem to care about such a dangerous hazard right in their midst.

Local residents along with Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein sent a direct request to the DOT asking them to rectify this intersection, but the DOT remains insistent that this intersection does not warrant a traffic signal or an all-way stop sign—citing traffic control studies conducted in 2017 and 2019.

But this does little to assuage residents who watch in frustration as accidents occur every few months, fearful that one of them will, chas v’shalom, have calamitous results.  

“Despite repeated requests, the DOT has refused to adjust this dangerous intersection. There have already been numerous accidents, some resulting in serious injury.” said Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein. “At what point will the DOT decide to listen to local residents and concerned community members and fix this problem?”

Although many accidents occur specifically at this intersection, The other streets where New Utrecht Ave collide with other Avenues, such as 50th Street and 54th Street, are equally as dangerous, 

An outraged Councilman Kalman Yeger told Boropark24: “For years, Borough Park’s elected representatives have asked DOT to address the numerous complicated intersections abutting New Utrecht Avenue as it winds through our neighborhood. There are many simple fixes that could easily make our neighborhood safer, like additional signals and signs, turning-lanes, signal timing changes and the like.”

“46th Street at 11th and New Utrecht Avenues is a busy and complicated intersection which must be addressed. It should not take a list of injured neighbors to get the DOT’s attention,” Councilman Yeger added.

State Senator Simcha Felder employed some dark humor as he quipped: “Perhaps if putting in a traffic light would somehow give the city a speed camera with which to give tickets, it would have happened yesterday!”

It is time for the Department of Transportation to put lives ahead of bureaucracy and fix this dangerous intersection immediately.